The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1909, Page 50

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50

The Lutheran Pioneer.

The Office of the Keys, and Confession.

Tue Pusiic ADMINISTRATION OF THE OFFICE OF
THE Krys.

We have heard what the Office of the Keys is
and to whom it has been entrusted; namely, that
it is the power to forgive and retain sins, and that
it was given to the Church. The question now
arises: Who is to administer this office publicly?
Is every individual Christian to exercise the duties
connected with the Office of the Keys? The so-
called Anabaptists in the days of the Reformation
said, “Yes,” and the consequence was the greatest
kind of disorder. Good common sense already
teaches us that in a society where all the members
have the same rights and privileges it is necessary
to choose certain members whose duty it is to exer-
cise the rights and privileges belonging to all. Thus
every well-conducted society must have its chair-
man, who in the name of all preserves order, ap-
points committees, and the like. In this country
we citizens all have the same rights and privileges;
yet it will never do for us all to exercise these rights
and privileges publicly, and for this reason we elect
officers to do in our name that which. it would not
be possible for us all to do. Just so it is in the
Chureh. Tvery true member of the Church, that
is, every believer, has received from Christ the office
to preach the Gospel, administer the Sacraments,
and, in particular, the power to forgive and retain
sins. But what would be the outcome of matters
if each and every individual Christian would insist
upon publicly exercising the Office of the Keys?
Anarchy could be the only result; the wildest kind
of disorder and final ruin would be the inevitable
consequence. Now, however, God would have de-
cency and order in His Church, and to secure this
He has instituted the Office of the Ministry which
is publicly to exercise the Office of.the Keys that
belongs to all Christians alike. The Christians are
to choose and call men out of their midst, and to
the then thus chosen and called they are to delegate
the public administration of the Office of the Keys.
These chosen men are to be the ministers, or sery-
ants, of the congregations that have called them.
They are to preach and teach, baptize, forgive and
retain sins, and administer the Lord’s Supper in
the name of the congregation and by virtue of the
call extended to them. Every public minister of
the Gospel can and must say to his congregation
what Paul said to his congregation at Corinth:
“If I forgave anything, to whom I forgave it, for

your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ,”
2 Cor. 2, 10.

Let us, however, not forget that the public min-
isters of the Gospel are not only the servants of
their congregations. ‘The, Scriptures are very em-
phatic in telling us that they are also the servants
of Christ. We must by no means forget that the
Oflice of the Keys is originally Christ’s, that the
congregations, in calling men to exercise this oflice,
are merely acting as the agents of Christ, and the
men whom they call to the ministry are, therefore,
responsible to Christ, the Lord of the Church and
of all its goods and gifts. ‘lo the elders of Mphe-
sus, who had been chosen by the congregation to
be their ministers, Paul says: “Take heed there-
fore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the
which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers to
feed the Chureh of God, which He hath purchased
with His own blood.” Here the Apostle plainly
says that the congregation, in calling its elders, or
pastors, acted as the agent of God. 1 Cor. 4, 1
Paul writes: “Let a man so account of us, as of the
ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries
of God.” Ministers are Christ’s servants; they are
the stewards of the mysteries of God. ‘The mys-
teries of God are the Gospel and the Sacraments.
These mysteries they are to administer in God’s
name to the edification of the congregations by
whom they have been ¢alled.

It may be well here to call attention to the fact
that while God nowadays calls ministers indirectly
through the congregation, as He did the elders of
Ephesus, there have been times when He called
them directly to their holy office. Thus the twelve
disciples of Jesus, Paul, Elijah, and others were
directly called by God to be His apostles and
prophets. Upon all these directly called ministers
of His God always conferred the power to perform
miracles, as it:was only in this way that they could
expect to prove their divine authority. ‘To-day
all ministers are, as has heen said, called indirectly,
through the congregation. But let us not forget
that, though indirectly called, the call of our min-
isters to-day is no less divine than was the call of
the prophets and apostles. The ministers of to-day
are no less God’s appointees than were Paul or
Peter, Wlijah or Elisha, Acts 20, 28. very called

minister of Christ, in exercising his office, deals.

with us by God’s command and in God’s name. —

There is.yet another thing that we must not
forget. In case of necessity, any Christian may ad-
minister the Office of the Keys privately. If, for

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